


Tell Me Something Good

by Poetrylivemusic



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 20 Things, Backstory, Braeden Appreciation Week, Breaden is human, Derek likes Braeden, Draeden, Early in Canon, F/M, Flirting, Human-Werewolf Interactions, Minor Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Pizza, Pre-Canon, Storytelling, Swimming Pools, braeden/derek - Freeform, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 07:06:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3478898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poetrylivemusic/pseuds/Poetrylivemusic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek & Braeden finally get to know each other during a game of 20 questions. What if they find out, isn't what the other expected?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell Me Something Good

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Hey loves! It has been a while. This is a one-shot thing I just had to do for my soul. Hope you like it. Disclaimer: Title might be misleading but there are no lemons in this story, and I don't own TW. sorry. Keep in mind this is early-stage ,flirty Draeden.

 

 

Ever since that mass text was sent, Braeden had been worried. Apparently, it was game night and she was being invited to join the festivities by none other than Beacon Hills’ own prima donna, Lydia Martin.

And who says no to Lydia?

Braeden doesn’t for one big reason in particular. She wants to be accepted by Derek’s friends more than she lets on so she reluctantly replies that she’ll bring chips when she shows up around eight thirty. Lydia responded immediately and said it started promptly at six but Braeden figures she can use the time to convince herself to get on her motorcycle and actually show up.

If you’d told her that she would seriously be considering spending her Saturday night in a small town, hanging out with teenagers who have a knack for attracting trouble, she would’ve laughed in your face. Hard. But here she is, at the store grabbing two bags of tortilla chips and ice, just in case.

“Thanks.” she tells the cashier on her way out. Approaching the gas pumps, she can't help but think about the seventy whole minutes she has until game night starts as she mounts her bike and rides off.

 

 

When Braeden finally gets to Lydia’s, she can hear the music from the sidewalk as she parks her motorcycle and walks tentatively up the driveway. There are a couple of cars parked neatly in a row and she dodges them with ease, making sure to keep a tight grip on the bag of ice in her hands and chips under her arms. Coming to the door, she takes a deep breath and knocks.

No answer.

She knocks again and still no answer so she resorts to using her foot to pound on the door.

After a few more seconds, she was frustrated.

Braeden turns to leave when she realizes that the music she thought was coming from inside the house is actually blaring outside of the Martin’s three story abode. She followed the perfectly paved walkway and found the whole gang spread out around the sprawling pool in the posterior of the house.

Braeden walked up to the iron gate, inwardly swallowed down her nerves, pushed back her curls and went in.

Lydia looked up when she opened the gate. “Hey!” Her face lit up as she kissed Braeden’s cheek. “You’re late.” She said taking the chips from Braeden’s arms.

“We were waiting on you to play spin the bottle.”

Braeden rolled her eyes. “I’m not playing spin the bottle.”

“Yes, you are.” The redhead pointed at her. “It’s game night so there are games and this is one of them.” Lydia informed with a plastered smile taking her hand. “Get ready for an unforgettable night.”

“Just shoot me.” Braeden mumbled under her breath as she was dragged to a side table under huge patio umbrellas.

Lydia glared at her as she released her hand. “I heard that.”

“I mean..yay!” Braeden feigned,waving her hands in the air.

“Whatever.” Lydia laughed as she opened the chips and poured them into an awaiting bowl. Braeden just smirked at her from across the table, not noticing that Derek’s eyes were glued to her from his resting spot by the pool across the yard.

With everyone occupied in the water splashing excitedly and dunking each other almost excessively, Lydia disappeared inside to transfer the ice Braeden brought into a chiller. The dark hued beauty was sitting poolside lounging in a chaise,red plastic cup of soda in hand, watching the fun the pack was having. She was bored.

Derek walked over with his trunks hanging deliciously low on his hips.

“Hey.” He said sitting next to her chair. “Didn’t think I would see you here.”

“Yeah. Well, I almost didn’t come.” she revealed keeping her eyes on the cup in his hands and not his waistline.

“What changed your mind?”

“Lydia.” Braeden answered and Derek shook his head.

“I’m glad you came, things were getting kind of boring around here.” he said waiting for her to look at him.

She did and smirked. “Mmhm..”

“What?”

She bit her lip to hide her amusement. “Nothing.”

“C’mon, what’s so funny?” Derek asked slightly smiling at Braeden.

“You.”

“Me?” He looked surprised.

“Yes. You.” she inclined her head towards him. “And me, we’re hanging out with a bunch of teenagers in bikinis on a Saturday night. Things can’t get much more boring or ridiculous.” Braeden laughed to herself.

Derek stared at her with light in his eyes and smiled wickedly. “Just wait until we play spin the bottle.”

She looked affronted. “Shut up!” she playfully hit him on the shoulder. “You heard that?”

“Every word.” He laughed and stood up offering a hand.

She stared at his hand for a moment, looking between him and his lithe fingers, secretly wondering if they were as soft as they looked. Braeden put her cup on the pavement and gave Derek her hand.

“Where are we going?” She asked on her feet.

“To have fun. My ass was falling asleep from sitting in that chair so long.”

 

They walked hand in hand towards the pool in the center of the yard but not without the knowing stares of their friends. When Braeden put her hair in a ponytail and stepped out of her tank & jeans revealing her sculpted black unikini and Derek’s jaw dropped, Scott & Stiles had to literally punch each other to keep from laughing out loud at his reaction. Kira smiled so hard it looked like it should hurt and Malia was just wondering why someone would wear fabric with deliberately missing pieces.

Lydia, back at the patio table, ignored everyone’s reaction. She just shook her head and continued texting the really hot lacrosse player she met in study hall at Beacon Hills Community College yesterday.

Derek picked up Braeden’s jeans, put them on the back of a chaise and slowly followed her down the steps, admiring the view as the water sloshed against her smooth skin. Ahead of him, Braeden smirked and swayed those amazing hips a little more than usual.

After an hour in the pool,one game of spin the bottle, and another of truth or dare later, Braeden was ready to go home.

So far, the only interesting thing that happened was Stiles cutting himself on the bottle and Malia learning to stitching him up on the spot. Long story short, they ended up making out because Stiles felt bad that he yelled at her to hurry up before he lost consciousness. Then Scott & Kira were dared to kiss each other and they’ve been fused at the lips since then.

And Lydia… after checking her phone for the millionth time that night, gave some half ass excuse about twenty minutes into truth or dare and split,telling everyone they could stay overnight because they’d all been drinking. Everyone except for Braeden, that is.

And coincidentally Derek, who had been inside waiting on the delivery guy for some time now. Turns out, he didn’t like spin the bottle as much as he thought. He offered to wait on the pizza he volunteered to order for everyone, just to get out of suffering through another game.

Sitting around watching people suck face was not her idea of a good time and she had done enough mingling for one day. Braeden, long since dressed, grabbed her leather jacket, swiped her bike keys and got up to leave. It seemed like she could make a clean getaway as she neared the familiar iron gate.

She had just pulled the latching handle down when Scott noticed she was leaving.

“Hey Braeden! Where are you going?” he slurred with a flushed Kira still attached to his lip.

“Home.”

“No! You can’t leave! I think Derek said he needed help with something.” Scott said with a huge smile. Kira released his lips,stared at him and he nodded at her. She nodded back.

“Uh, yeah! I think he said the pizza guy did something..deliveryish.” Kira trailed off, her earlier enthusiasm waning.

Braeden skeptically stared at them with her dazzling brown eyes for a while. She saw Scott and Kira flinch slightly under her scrutiny. Satisfied, she gave them her signature pout and proceeded inside the house, swiping the bowl of chips no one touched on her way to the sliding glass doors. The only available exit out of the most boring evening of her life.

 

 

She found Derek in the kitchen, back turned and knife in hand chopping veggies on a cutting board. Braeden had to double check to make sure this wasn’t his place because he looked so comfortable. He was still wearing his swim trunks but had a gray fitted tank covering his chest.

And he was singing.

Derek Hale was singing to the vegetables and he actually sounded good, if Braeden was being honest. His voice sounded like it belonged to someone famous; someone timeless. It was beautiful and deep. It was something she could see herself getting used to hearing everyday.

He continued chopping and singing for another minute before Braeden cleared her throat.

He didn’t turn around as he called out. “Hey Scott, if you could pas-“

“Derek, what are you doing?”

He slowly put down his knife and smirked. “I was wondering when you would make your way in here.”

“Is that so?” Braeden sauntered over behind him, hovering.

“My bet was 20 minutes ago, so it looks like I owe Lydia 50 bucks.” Derek lamented, eyeing her over his shoulder.

“Are you telling me, that you bet a 18 year old teenager, that a badass mercenary like myself, would get bored at a pool party and come check on her “investment”?

“Yep.” Derek replied, popping the syllable. He smiled at her and she glowered back playfully.

He raised his eyebrows and she shook her head in defeat. “Pass me that skillet will you?”

Braeden looked to her right and noticed for the first time that the range in front of her was all clean lines and digital buttons, not a traditional gas burner was in sight. She grabbed the empty skillet closest to her and gave it to him.

“What are you making anyway?” She asked as Derek slid the veggies into the pan.

“I have no idea.” He laughed.

Half an hour later, the vegetable ratatouille was finished and they ate it alongside a plethora of other tastes: tortilla chips that were hours old, sugar free sodas Derek swiped from the fridge and the pepperoni pizza that arrived while they waited for it to bake.

Seated with their backs resting against the cream colored cushions of the breakfast nook in the corner of the kitchen, Derek & Braeden sat shoulder to shoulder.

“Hey,can I ask you something?” he requested, wiping his lips with a silk linen napkin.

“Mhmm.” she kept her eyes on the fork currently cutting into the last morsels of vegetables in the casserole dish in her lap.

“We don’t know that much about each other.” He started.

“That doesn’t sound like a question.” Braeden quipped, finally glancing at him.

Derek suppressed his smirk and ignored her.

“We don’t know everything we should about each other. I want to get to know you. What you like, things you don’t like, hopes, dreams. So let’s play 20 questions, ok?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“You don’t have to but…” he stared at her with those impossible shimmering eyes. “no.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “What do I win?”

“What?”

“What.Do.I.Win.” She repeated. “When I win.” she shrugged her shoulders in that adorable way he hated that he loved.

He scoffed. “You don’t win the 20 question game,Braeden.”

“Why not, Derek?” She stressed his name with a degree of sarcasm not lost on him. He laughed anyway.

“So…I have to answer questions and I don’t get anything in return?”

“If it makes you feel any better, you get to ask me 20 questions too.”

“Uh, why didn’t you lead with that?” She bumped his shoulder and smiled. “Game on.”

“This should be interesting.” Derek laughed, reaching for a slice of pizza seated in the box between them. Braeden tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and he stopped mid chew to marvel at the movement. She didn't even know she did it. Her eyes never left her plate as she spooned another bite into her mouth. She looked happy,carefree.

“How old did you think I was when we first met?” He blurted out without meaning to. Braeden looked up quickly and then down again. She smiled and answered.

“You were shirtless the fist time I saw you. I wasn’t worried about your age.” She joked.

He chortled and a silence fell. She exhaled after swallowing her food.

“Maybe around 24, if I had to pick a number.” She offered, after the silence began to feel a little heavy. Braeden wanted to ask him what prompted this question because she already knew his basic background information. She just didn’t know if he knew, that she knew. Brown eyes watched as strong hands folded an empty pizza box in half like it was paper. His strength was so effortless. She was curious about where he got it from.

“Tell me about your family.”

“That’s not how this game works. You have to ask specific questions.” Derek revealed, shoveling the last pizza crust down his throat. He smiled at her with a full mouth.

Braeden made a disgusted face and shoved him.

“Fiine,fiiine. Favorite childhood memory.”

Derek seemed to like the question because he gave her a smile she had never seen before. It was warmer than usual like she had unlocked some hidden part of him that no one ever had. He scooted further down and rested his head on the cushion of the sectional, staring at the chandelier on the high vaulted ceiling.

“Before my sister Cora was born, I had this blanket that I loved. My mother made it for me and I took it everywhere. School,mass,the grocery store..we were inseparable. I remember those colors-blue & white striped with little green stars on it. I just thought it was the best thing in the world. Always had it with me until one day,it disappeared into thin air. I must have torn the entire neighborhood up looking for it.”

He shifted a bit, hands coming to rest over his t-shirt. “Here I was, this tiny boy, banging on front doors and yelling down the street for a blanket. Something that I called mine. Something I considered a part of me. It was there,ya know, right next to me. All day,every day and then all of a sudden… it wasn’t.”

“When I got home, I told my parents about it and they helped me look. I promise, we searched for what felt like centuries and…nothing. It was gone. I cried myself to sleep that night.”

Derek closed his eyes as if the memory was resurfacing too quickly for his tear ducts to adjust. “Anyway..uh… a couple days later I found it in the last place I ever expected to see it. In Cora’s crib. It was ruined, there was spit up all over it and Mama couldn’t get it out no matter how many times she washed it. Well I was devastated…”

“Naturally.” Braeden interrupted, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her attention was fixed on him. He smiled back but it was empty.

Something was missing.

“and instead of crying about it, I got upset. I took my anger out on anything I could. People, furniture, basically whatever I got my hands on ended up broken. Almost got me suspend from kindergarten.”

Braeden gasped. “You were a baby delinquent?” She covered her heart with her hands and watched Derek brighten as he stuck his tongue out at her but his eyes still lacked the light she was used to.

“I was unbearable and unhappy, miserable really and it didn’t take long for my first transformation to happen because of it. But I didn’t tell my parents right away. They discovered it, one night at dinner when Cora knocked over a glass of milk that spilled in my lap because I was sitting too close to her highchair.”

He took a deeper breath than normal and swallowed down what looked like rising anger from where Braeden was sitting. There was something beginning to tick in his forehead but as soon as she fixed her lips to say something about him resembling his uncle Peter when he frowned, it disappeared.

“I just went crazy…man I destroyed everything. I threw my chair across the room so fast it almost hit my big sister in the face. It was the first and only time that I remember her being scared of me, I can still see her eyes.”

He glanced at Braeden quickly and then back at the ceiling. “I thought she hated me and I just knew that I hated Cora… so I took off outside to the backyard.” A beat. “My dad came out to find me sitting on the swing set with my eyes bright yellow but he didn’t say a word. He just sat down and started to swing.”

Braeden started to smile at the mental image of a tiny boy with dark hair who would grow to have darker features and pulled her knees closer to her, listening to the timbre of Derek’s voice change.

“I was confused because he had seen my display at dinner but as I watched him swing, he asked me if I’d like to swing with him and I didn’t know what to say so I just started moving my legs alongside him, back and forth. Before long, my eyes weren’t glowing and my anger wasn’t angry anymore. Then he stopped, and so did I.”

“I’ll never forget what happened next.”

“What?” Her dark curls fell over her jeans as she rested her chin on her knees.

“My mom came out, put me in her lap and the three of us sat looking up at the stars in the sky until our breathing synced. They told me that I was in control of how I handled situations and sometimes life isn’t going to be easy or fair but anger isn’t the answer to my problems. I said that it was never going to be fair because Cora took my blanket away from me without permission. She didn’t even apologize.”

“Could she talk?” Braeden asked, momentarily furrowing her brow.

He shook his head no and she gave him a telling stare. She gestured for him to continue when he started to realize how ridiculous his demand of his infant sister was at the time. He rolled his eyes and kept going.

“Mama told me that as long as I had the memory of what the blanket meant to me, it could never really be lost. Nothing could ever separate me from it. That it would always be mine and Cora couldn’t take that away.”

“She sounds like a very wise woman.”

“She was.” He said fondly in a voice that cracked in places around where her name would have been.

Braeden touched his hand softly and marveled at her earlier thought. They were infinitesimally softer than they looked. He looked up at her and tried to see her clearly through the accumulating tears as his cheeks reddened.

She thought very seriously about kissing away his tears but before the first one could drop, she made a swoop. With her hand beneath his chin, she picked up the utensil and fed him the last forkful of ratatouille.

He ate it in silence, holding her gaze and he didn’t need to say it. His green eyes were drying by the second and that was all the thanks Braeden needed. When he was done chewing, he smiled lazily and took the fork from her hand,laying it in the empty casserole dish.

She sat back against the cushion and finally exhaled.

“What’s your middle name?” Derek asked while pushing the dish out of her lap, resting a hand on her thigh. The glass container made a soft thud on laminate flooring.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Why do you want to know?”

“If you don’t tell me, I’m just going to ask a harder question.”

“Fine.” She grimaced. “It’s Michelle.”

Derek looked shocked that she was honest outright but instead of teasing her, picked up his forgotten soda and sipped it to distract himself from all his memories.

“Surprised?” she asked. He shook his head.

“Don’t be.” Braeden shrugged. “What’s your middle name?”

“Thomas.” He answered with ease.

She didn’t want to tell him but Derek Thomas Hale had a nice ring to it, she thought.

“My dad’s name. I was the only boy in a family full of girls, guess my mother thought it was the least she could do.” He added.

She didn’t say anything, just nodded, but all of a sudden she found herself wondering a little more about what he was like as a child.

“Favorite holiday?” Derek inquired,sticking his hand in the bowl between them. Taking a chip, he waited for her to answer.

“What’s with all these random questions Hale?” she moved to take the chips away from him. “It’s getting annoying.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Answer, please.”

He snatched the chips back and popped one in his mouth.

“Kwanzaa. It was huge at my house growing up but we celebrated Christmas too. We called it Kwanzmas” She shrugged. “Guess, they’re both my favorite.”

“Okayy. Best Kwanzmas memory,then?”

“I knew it was coming.” She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her soda for the second time that night. “We weren’t that close growing up, me & my siblings…” She started.

“You have sibl-“

“Three. Brandon,Bailey and my sister Blaire.” She wanted to apologize for cutting him off but she needed to tell him about this memory even more so she continued. “We were all different ages so we didn’t have much in common. Too big an age gap between us all, I guess.”

Braeden took a deep breath and let her long legs relax beneath her.

“Boys were the favorites in my household. They were in charge,held to a different standard. They always ate first,got the biggest pieces and the best presents for birthdays and holidays. This has gone on for generations and my brothers were no different. Well one Kwanzmas, Brandon got this really cool BB gun. I remember..It was sleek and shiny. Beautiful.”

She stopped suddenly and gathered up one leg pulling it into chest. She wrapped her arms around it, clasped her fingers together and sat straight against the sectional cushions. Blankly staring past the flatscreen television in front of her, her eyes glazed over.

“He loved that thing from the second he unwrapped it and he spent that entire weekend hanging out with Bailey shooting it outside in the backyard. And even though I had an obsession with stuffed rabbits back then, they didn’t hold my attention like Brandon’s new toy. I wanted to get my hands on it. Bad. But it was forbidden, guns weren’t for girls. It didn’t stop me from watching them from the bedroom window while they practiced though. Brandon always paid special attention to Bailey when he corrected his form, whispering praises in his ear,turning him just right for the shot until his angle was perfect. Over and over again.”

“They looked like a team of soldiers. A duo, that I really wanted to be part of. I remember sitting there for hours just wishing that I could be out there. To experience it. Just once. Know what it felt like to be wanted. Valued. ”

Her fingers suddenly slipped from her grasp, down her denim jeans and broke her reverie.

“I..uh..thought Brandon was the most amazing person to have ever lived, he was to me at least.” She said looking skyward, a huge grin playing at her lips.

“He was my elusive big brother. The college student, the scholar. Strong & smart; always the topic of everyone’s conversations. He mattered and when he smiled at me,showed even the slightest amount of interest in me, I felt like I did too. So when he caught me staring at them from the window a couple of times that weekend and he smiled, I thought for sure he would let me see the action up close. Invite me to join them, be part of the team but he never did.”

“He just kept smiling at me every time we made eye contact through the glass but I didn’t feel special anymore. I didn’t matter.”

Braeden’s shoulders dropped, her hands falling the rest of the way to the tile beneath her. They hit the chip bowl, rattling the contents momentarily. She peered down,raised her index finger and traced the rim of the bowl slowly.

“It must have been New Years Eve when Brandon packed up and went back to college. It was the first time he left without saying goodbye.I didn’t even get a hug. I watched his old rusted Cadillac with the basketball stuck in the rear windshield, pull out of the driveway and disappear down the street. He wasn’t amazing anymore, not smart,not strong just elusive. Gone.” Her tracing, halted mid-cycle as she caught Derek’s eyes. She knew he hadn’t stopped staring at her since she started talking but she was finally ready to look at him now.

“I hated him for all of two minutes before I got back to my room and found that sleek,shiny BB gun lying across my bed with a note attached to it saying…” A pause. “Merry Christmas Brae, This is yours now. You can use it better than our little bro. You have a better eye than he does anyway, form is probably better too. You’re pretty special that way, kid. Keep this safe and we can target practice when I get back from school. Love Always, Brandon.”

Braeden reached for a strand of stray hair and Derek intercepted, gently tucking the dark curl behind her ear. She smiled.

“I took it outside that same night after my parents were asleep and shot at everything- bottles,cans,leaves-for hours, always careful to hide it behind my dresser so they wouldn’t know and pretty soon I was a perfect shot. My brother taught me everything I know about guns from hundreds of miles away. How to be smart and strong.”

Her bottom lip began to quiver and her next words were a mere breath. Too soft to sound as broken as they were.

“He died in a car accident two weeks later, I never saw him again.”

Braeden stared at her hands and fought the urge to look at Derek, who was left speechless. 

She cleared her throat.“That’s… uh…that’s my favorite holiday memory and a big part of why I do what I do for a living.”

He nodded, mesmerized that he had just gotten another piece of the Braeden puzzle. He knew a little more about who she was because she wanted him to know. She told him.

“What about your sister?” He asked, his hand lingering on the cushion behind her head. There just in case.

“Blaire? Wasn’t born yet.” She eased, gazing up and into his eyes finally.

“No?”

She shook her head. “Nope. My mom got remarried later after my dad screwed up big time and she ended it.”

“What happened?” Derek probed. He knew he was taking a chance by asking such a personal thing but if he was going to be in a successful relationship with her, he needed to know things like this. Things that made her who she is.

Braeden fiddled with her fingers,running her thumb across her nail beds. Derek noticed that she did that when she was uncomfortable and suddenly he felt guilty for asking her to remember something that might be buried for a reason.

“The usual” “…alcohol…infidelity. Your basic soap opera story.” she mumbled underneath her breath. Her eyes never left her fingers.

“I’m sorry. I didn-“

“It’s okay. You wanted to know. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Her voice was above a whisper and sounded so tiny, it was almost squeaking. She didn’t appear to be the strong woman who kicked ass for a living. Derek stared at her, staring at her hands and imagined that this is what little Braeden looked like. Reserved, quiet, concentrated.

“Ask me something else.” Derek pleaded taking her hand in his. She never looked at him. “Please.”

He was desperate to diffuse a moment too heavy for the amount of food he had just ingested. If she was silent for one more minute because of his question, Derek was sure that both the pizza and the ratatouille wouldn’t taste so good the second time around.

Braeden’s hand were held so long they were starting to get sweaty when she finally spoke.

“What’s your favorite song?” She glanced at him from the corner of her heavy lidded eyes.

“Umm..” He stared at her dazed by hearing her voice again. He realized he had missed it more than he thought.

“Is that really your question?”

“I'm asking aren’t I?” She quirked, settling into a comfortable position. Her eyes were closing by the second as she entwined their fingers and turned her face toward the ceiling.

“Smart ass.”

Braeden snorted but didn’t reply, the first stages of sleep threatening to overtake her. She smiled softly and waited for him to say something. “So?” she inquired.

“Wait.” He jolted and made Braeden open her eyes and stare in a panic. “I have a couple more questions to ask before I tell you my favorite song.” 

She looked confused but allowed the silence to do its work, Derek bowed his head, let his hand slip away from hers and mumbled. “The song…it has a meaning…my mom used to sing it to me at night and you’re practically fading by the minute so I thought that…maybe…” He stopped short.

The chestnut skinned beauty scooped up large hands and wrapped one arm around her shoulder while the other found a home clasped around right hip. She funneled her right leg to lay across his and angled her body toward him. He nestled closer, feeling the way they fit perfectly together.

She looked him straight in the eye and above a whisper, told him. “No, I don’t mind.”

Derek leaned down and kissed her so gently that there was a possibility he might cry. They had an unspoken understanding that he had never experienced in any of his past relationships. Braeden was different in every sense of the word and he didn’t want anything in the world to change that. Change them.

“Okay, then.” He breathed, forehead pressed to hers. Braeden pulled away and snuggled into his side and he slid her closer until she was almost on his hip.

“Ask me stuff. I want to hear the song.” Her languid voice sounded slower than normal as she tucked her head in the crook of his neck.

“Favorite color?”

“Purple.” She revealed with ease.

“Really?” He stared down at her, eyebrows raised. “I never would’ve thou-“

“It’s because I wear a lot of black, isn’t it?”

Derek laughed. “Maybe.”

“What’s yours?”

“Grey.” Braeden didn’t say anything immediately, just let the new knowledge incorporate itself into the puzzle of the Derek she already knew. Somehow, his color preference did not surprise her at all. His choice matched the ever present level of sadness in his eyes.

“It fits you.” Her voice was slowing down to a paced breath.

“Thanks.” He jostled her a bit to regain her fading attention. It worked as she told him he’d better have a good reason for not letting her sleep.

“I’m not done yet. I have more questions.”

“Well, I’m about to be done… so hurry up and ask them.”

“Alright, alright…this is kind of a serious one.” She grumbled into his neck but he continued despite her objection.

“Everyone is afraid of something. Even monsters like me. We all have that one thing that we can never quite shake.” He listened to her breathing and noted the beats were a fraction out of sync. “What scares you, Braeden?”

She took a deep breath, opened her eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. Everyone is afraid of something, that one thing we think about in the back of our minds..every second of everyday.” She closed them again.

“You’re not a monster, Derek.” His muscles relaxed around her. She kissed his neck softly. “You never have been.”

Derek moaned without meaning to, a strangled sound that fought to believe her words.

“Every opportunity you have had to become one, you passed up. A real monster would never be able to resist the temptation.” She released his hand and placed it over his heart. She held it there. “You are not a monster. You’re a predator. It’s different. It will always be different.”

He was glad that she couldn’t see him but he knew that Braeden was intuitive and could tell that he was fighting back the tears. A losing battle, that priceless moment that she let the warm saltiness roll down his cheeks and into her hair without saying a word. She loved that he finally let them fall around her freely. He continued his silent reverie as she disclosed lowly.

“I guess…I’m scared of something inevitable.” She started. “Something we’re all afraid of but never want to admit. Something that happens eventually to everyone and everything on this planet.” Her head found a new position on Derek’s chest. She listened to his heartbeat while his tears began to dry.

“I have nightmares like everyone else, stuff that keeps me up at night. Normal things like taxes and spiders aren’t at the top of my list but something very real to me is…real like us sitting here, together, in Lydia’s kitchen.” Her next words were grave; sad in a universal way. The most honest utterance she had ever revealed.

“My only fear is being forgotten. Being left behind like I never mattered.” Braeden’s hand dropped from Derek’s chest but he caught it before her slender fingers fell into his lap. He kissed her knuckles.

“Completely disappearing.” He finished, reverently breathing in the spicy aroma of leftover tomato sauce on her skin.

“Exactly.” She conceded, in a voice that begged to be held so tight that the broken pieces fit snugly back together, making her whole once more. It was a sound Derek was all too familiar with. A noise, that croaked and split around the pain of telling the absolute truth.

“I understand.” He whispered apathetically into her curls,kissing her head softly. He was still holding her hand.

They stayed this way, real and raw. One wide awake, using his energy to commit this moment to memory so that it may last forever. The other, using every last reserve of her energy to beckon sleep closer. To take the memories of the past away completely.

They took a breath in unison and sighed in content, releasing countless tensions they were holding for different reasons. Her mind starting to blanket in dreams, his broad body blanketing hers in comfort.

“Braeden?” Derek inquired, gauging her consciousness. “

Hmm.” Softly-half spoken in a groggy voice that was eminent of her struggle to stay with him. She was fading fast.

He was desperate to have just one more moment with her, finding out who she was. He didn’t know the next time they would have a chance to be as open as tonight, without any of the daily interruptions that often kept their relationship business as usual. In a last ditch effort, he clamored for another question. Something, anything that would keep the dreams at bay. He need to hear her voice again.

“Quick fire questions…ready?” He didn’t wait for a reply and fought back the feeling that she was already far away from him. Gone.

“Parents’ names?” He winced, hoping she would take the bait.

Every answer that followed was a hushed, gravelly response that drew out over several seconds each time she spoke.

“Carolyn, Michael and Nathaniel.”

His face contorted in confusion at the mention of three names instead of the two name traditional response but he decided not to press the issue any further. Sooner or later, she would explain it. He had no doubt and no time. Braeden was slipping into REM stage faster than he liked.

“Birthday? Worst Job? Nicknames? Coffee or tea?” He resumes, perking up a bit. His hazel gaze greedily kept its attention on her fluttering eyelids, waiting for more insight.

“November 28th, daycare assistant, everyone calls me ‘bug’ but to dad I’m just Shelly and coffee. Can’t live without it.” She moaned.

It all came out in one long reply where each word seamlessly ran into the other, creating a mashup of tiny personality shards that helped sculpt the image of her true self. He was grateful that she answered all of them completely and couldn't contain his smile as he pictured her surrounded by small children with runny, button noses. Screaming and flailing in her arms, attacking her eardrums without caution. He had never seen her around kids before but he decided then that he would change that in the near future.

She would probably be an amazing mother, he thought discreetly to himself as he ghosted the pads of his thumb across her fingers.

Her heartbeat slowed to a dangerous level that signaled she would be out like a light soon.

“Favorite comfort food?” He scrambled, again wanting to keep her with him for just a little longer.

“Derek! It’s…macaroni and cheese.” She expelled a tired, groggy breath. “Now, that I’ve answered all your questions… will you please, just sing the damn song?”

He giggled and held her hand tighter. He kissed it again. “Yeah. Someone’s cranky…aren’t we?”

Braeden tried to pull her hands out of his embrace but her attempt was feeble at best, her energy completely drained. Derek overpowered her easily.

“Shut up.” She rasped, barely audible.

He smiled coyly and gingerly scooped her up, ignoring the annoyed grumbles as he settled her in his lap. He wrapped her slender arms around his thick waist and she instinctively resumed her place on his chest. Her weight, gently tugging on the apron strings around his neck.

Derek’s toned arm effortlessly draped across Braeden’s thimble legs and came to rest on her right thigh, clasping with the other in a sure grip. She was as close as he could get her. Safe.

“My mom used to sing this to me at bedtime.” He noted. “I haven’t sung it in forever.” He didn’t expect a reply as he began to bellow the comforting words of his tainted childhood.

 

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine play a song for me._

_I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to._

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine play a song for me._

_In the jingle, jangle morning_

_I’ll come following you._

 

_Though I know that evening’s empire has returned into sand_

_Vanished from my hand  
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping _

_My weariness amazes me, I’m branded on my feet_

_I have no one to meet_

_And the ancient empty street’s too dead for dreaming._

 

 

Derek’s voice started as a low rumbling that carried a casual timbre, an ease that showcased he knew the lyrics by heart. As he continued, his voice honeyed around each word, wrapping them in a deep and sensual harmony. He rubbed Braeden’s leg back and forth,soothingly.

 

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me_

_I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to_

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me_

_In the jingle,jangle morning_

_I’ll come following you_

 

_Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship_

_My senses have been stripped, my hands can’t feel to grip_

_My toes too numb to step_

_Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering I’m ready to go anywhere,_

_I’m ready for to fade Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way_

_I promise to go under it._

 

 

The tenor’s voice floated through the air gracefully at a constant tempo, keeping time with imaginary instruments that only he could hear. Each verse he belted sonorously and reminisced upon the uplifting story of a traveling man who was destined to always search for someone to travel with.

 

_Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun_

_It’s not aimed at anyone, it’s just escaping on the run_

_And for the sky there are no fences facing And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme_

_To your tambourine in time, it’s just a ragged clown behind_

_I wouldn’t pay it any mind_

_It’s just a shadow you’re seeing that he’s chasing_

 

Derek kept his rhythm, the verses blending together in a rich medley of sound. He trailed his fingers up and down a pair of legs not belonging to him and stroked gently. Soon, Braeden’s soft snores added a measured gentleness to the song and his thoughts drifted to his mother during her nightly serenade. He could still hear her falsetto in his mind.

_Then take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind_

_Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves_

_The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach_

_Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow_

_Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free_

_Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands_

_With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves_

_Let me forget about today until tomorrow_

 

Derek’s volume waned as he stroked her hair, he felt her sink a little lower, slumping into him. Her curls covering his apron completely. He took a deep breath, mindful of the woman laying on him and leaned back further into the cushions. He positioned his chin atop her.

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me_

_I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to_

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine... Man.....play.....a…....song..........fo-_

 

He trailed off with ease, his voice a subdued rasp. Unconnected notes floating through the air aimlessly trying to hold on to something. Maybe a bit too much like the little boy who was taught this song at bedtime who grew into a man who was destined to search for someone to hold on to. For a moment, he entertained the thought that musical legend had him in mind as his muse when he penned the lyrics to a story that might never be finished.

Braeden had finally committed to sleep as her chest began to rise and fall in sync with Derek’s. He held her close with no intention of ever letting her go. Running a finger across her smooth jawline, he stared down at her longingly and marveled at her boundless beauty. Happy that she chose him to open up to, but happier that she chose him in general. He ghosted her check with a feathered touch and she stirred but did not wake up.

He admired her for a while, actively tracing every inch of her with his eyes so he wouldn’t forget how she felt in this moment. Eventually, her image was painstakingly etched into his very being, every fiber of his body and soul knew who she was. If, by any circumstance, they were ever separated, he could find her miles away with his eyes closed in slumber. They were one.

Derek arms subconsciously relaxed around her, his toned arms deflating under the weight of a busy day. He hummed the chorus softly as his eyesight began to lose focus and his lids became too heavy to keep open. His head lolling forward for the last time before sleep claimed him and he joined Braeden in dreamland.

 

Later, he woke with a start. “Ow!” he whispered harshly, his eyes quickly refocusing in the dim light of the sun streaming through the sliding glass doors. Someone had tripped over his leg, their car keys falling gracelessly to the tile below.

“Sorry! I didn’t know that you were- OH MY GOD!” came an excited shriek from the resident strawberry blonde.

Derek shushed her with intensity, finger over his lips. He looked down at Braeden, who was still asleep. Lydia nodded in understanding yet the amusement in her makeup smeared face was evident.

“Don’t.” He instructed, holding up one hand.

“Didn’t say anything.” She quipped, raising her arms in surrender. The ghost a sinister smile played at the corners of her lips.

She bit her lip pensively and volleyed between quick stares at a sleeping Braeden nestled in Derek’s embrace and the werewolf with protective arms around the mercenary with the ruthless reputation. She opened her mouth to speak.

“You two look good together.” Lydia offered, bending down slowly to pick up her keys next to them. From here, Derek could smell sex on her but decided that her personal choices were none of his business. He said nothing, just observed her watching them.

She took inventory with her big green eyes, of the chip bowl and soda cans in the area surrounding the couple. “You two, sure had fun… didn’t you?”

“Lydia.” He warned.

She stared at him for a moment then stood up and crossed over his long legs with ease, managing not to jostle Braeden at all. She took a couple of steps and peered over her shoulder at them, smile eating at her face. Each time, her eyes were telling Derek something he’d rather not discuss so early in the morning.

She tucked her long hair behind an ear, still marveling at them.

“Say anything and I will rip your throat out with my teeth.” He deadpanned.

“You’re not a morning person, are you?” She rolled her eyes and laughed quietly, continuing on her way through the open living room. Derek rolled his eyes and checked on Braeden again. She was still knocked out.

“Your secret is safe with me, it’s not my place to say anything. I’ve already told you that I think you two fit together.” She hunched her shoulders nonchalantly and materialized a cell phone from her pocket. “And from what I can see..they way you’re holding her like you were made for her, you think so too.”

He sighed in agreement as she walked away.

When Lydia reached the doorway of the living room, she pivoted suddenly. “Go back to sleep, Derek. Remember,you never saw me.” She winked, shaking her head once. He nodded and she disappeared from sight as if she had been a figment of his imagination.

He nestled back into position, his chin resting on top of Braeden’s head. He would deal with titles and the rest of the pack knowing they were dating officially when they woke up. He initiated the beginnings of a familiar tune, humming along to the lyrics in his head.

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man play a song for me_

_In the jingle, jangle morning_

_I’ll come following you._

 

Once again, he drifted into dreamland hoping to catch a glimpse of the dark haired woman with eyes like his that taught him his favorite song.

**Author's Note:**

> The song mentioned in this fic was Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan. Just seemed like a song his mom would sing to him. Brae is a Sagittarius based on all my research on personality types, suits her well. But the real question is...who else thinks Lydia ships Derek & Braeden? Til next time loves!! Muaah!


End file.
